“I have one more question,” I said, dreading what she would say.
“What is it?” Belinda asked.
“What is the connection between my past lives and my life today?”
“What did you see in the past?” She answered, frowning.
“I saw witches. I was a witch at least two times in my past.”
“So you know what it is,” She said softly.
“Yes,” I whispered. “I was a witch then, and I am a witch now.”
24. Tri-Town Fair
Even though I was looking forward to going to the fair with Ian, my thoughts kept returning to the time I spent with Belinda and Mercy. Belinda was right about one thing; if she had just told me that I was a witch and that I had lived previous lives as a witch, I would never have believed it. The experience of the hypnosis and the regression was what convinced me. I now acknowledge that I am a witch and that I have been a witch for at least two past lives. Everything I saw and revealed during the regression came out of a real memory. It wasn’t just some crazy made-up story. Belinda said I should be hypnotized at least one more time to find out more about my past. I know it would be best for me to learn about these things, but at the same time, it is hard. The regressions are very unsettling.
It’s scary to admit that I’m a witch, but at least it explains some of the strange things that have happened to me, like dreaming of future events and reading Tonya’s mind. I have a great deal more to figure out, but that will come with time. I’m very lucky because I have Mercy to help me, and probably Miss Cassie. Somehow I think she’s involved in all this.
Enough of that! Tonight I want to enjoy myself and be a normal teenager on a date with Ian at the Tri Town Fair. I’ve been looking forward to it all week long and nothing will spoil my fun. I definitely needed help sprucing myself up and fortunately, Rainy happened to be here for dinner. She was nice enough to help out by contributing with her vast knowledge of hair and makeup. After she was finished, I put on black leggings and a stretchy striped top with leather flip flops. When I checked myself out in the mirror, I decided that her fussing and poking was worth sitting through. Annie even nodded approvingly when she saw me.
The doorbell rang. That must be Ian. Next think I heard mom’s voice. “Tess, you have a visitor.” Visitor! She knows I have a date with Ian. Why would she call him a visitor as if he was unexpected?
“I’ll be right down,” I yelled. One more glance in the mirror and I walked gracefully (ha) down the stairs. I could hear the murmur of a male voice as I was descending.
“Hey, I…” I started to talk until I saw that it wasn’t Ian. “Uhhh . . . . hi, Will.”
What was Will doing here? I wondered. “So, how’re you doing?” I asked.
Will looked up at me, “I’m doing fine.” He did a quick double take, “And you look great, Tess! I’m still getting used to the new you.”
“Thanks, Will,” I answered, “you’re not looking too bad yourself.” He WAS looking good. He flashed me a sweet smile and a dimple showed. Did he do that on purpose? I swear he’s done a kind of a guy makeover, but what do I know? Since that day I met him at the robotics club, his hair and his clothes have definitely been upgraded. I’m not always the most observant, though. Maybe it was a figment of my imagination.
“Hey, Tess, I was driving by your house and I was thinking about going to the Tri-Town fair in Andover tonight. I thought that you might like to go.”
This was awkward. “I’m sorry, Will. I’m going to the fair with someone else,” I answered.
Will was taken aback for a minute. I thought I caught a flicker of disappointment before his expression was a bland nonchalance. “Guess I’m too late. I’ll have to learn to ask up front next time.”
Talk about timing. I heard a truck door shut. It must be Ian. Now he’s coming up the walk, whistling. I didn’t even know if Will and Ian knew each other. Before Ian could press the doorbell, I opened the door and he came right in, smiling at me. Ian stopped smiling when he saw Will. A moment went by when I just didn’t know what to say. I finally swallowed and turned to Will. “Uh…Will, do you know Ian Miller?”
Was it my imagination or did I see Will narrow his eyes for a second? “Yeah, we knew each other at school. I believe you were in my Calculus class last year.”
Ian answered, “I remember you, Will. You were the math brain, if I recall. You used to correct Mr. Underwood. I have to say that I enjoyed that.” Even as Ian was complimenting Will he had a little smirk on his face. What was it with guys? Do they have to be competitive about everything?
Right at that exact moment, Rainy, Eve and Annie appeared in the front hallway, all glammed up for the fair. They just stood there smiling, looking between me, Will and Ian. I knew they were hoping for some major drama to occur. Well, they were going to be sorely disappointed because nothing was happening, at least not in the open. Finally, Eve yelled, “Hey mom, remember you said I could borrow your car to drive to the fair tonight?”
“No, I don’t remember, dear. Your grandma and I have our meeting at the church and we need the car. I’m sorry,” Mom responded from the kitchen doorway.
“Mom, how are we supposed to get there?” inquired Annie.
Will quickly spoke up, “You girls need a ride to the fair? You’re certainly welcome to come with me.” He suddenly appeared very happy. Boy, he sure jumped on that opportunity fast.
Rainy turned her head and noticed Will. “You’re familiar. Actually, you remind me of the math brain that won the math league contest last year. That’s not you, is IT?” Rainy squinted her eyes and studied Will’s face for a minute. “It does look like you. I remember seeing you at the awards assembly. You were standing up on stage with all those other geeks. But you look a lot cooler than that guy looked.”
Will tried to look deferential. “Actually, yeah, that would be me.”
Rainy, who’s not exactly known for her tact asked, “What happened to you? You look REALLY different.”
Will responded with wide smile, “Well, you’re welcome to ride with me. I plan on parking over by the band shell. I have a good friend playing with the ‘Two Timers’.”
Rainy squealed, “You know someone in the ‘Two Timers’? I love that band. I saw them play in Boston last winter. Can we go with you?”
Will perked up even more, if that was possible. “Sure, love to have you. Let’s get going. The parking lot fills up quickly over there.”
Annie and Eve waved at me as they left. Annie added, “Bye, you guys. See you there.” Rainy was busy chattering away with Will.
I was feeling a twinge of jealousy watching Will leave with three attractive girls and looking so happy. What the heck is wrong with me? Why am I being so greedy? After all, I’m with Ian. I’ve been looking forward to this moment all week.
Ian cleared his throat. He’d been watching me the whole time. Hope he can’t read my mind. “So, are we ready to go?”
“Yeah, sure, let’s head out,” I answered. “Bye, Aunt Amy and Grandma,” I yelled toward the kitchen.
As we were riding in the car, I made a point to try and observe Ian’s aura but it was too dark to see much of anything. It’s been bothering me that I’ve never been able to see any colors around him. It was unusual for me to go this long without getting some kind of a read on a person. I felt like he was deliberately holding himself close to his chest, almost as if he sensed that I had an intuiting ability so he was blocking me out. Was he trying to hide something? The fact that he used to date Tonya didn’t help matters. What kind of a guy dated Tonya?
Ian turned and smiled at me as we pull into the parking lot. Why was I dwelling on all these paranoid thoughts? I always do this to myself. It was as if I had to ruin my own good time. I smiled back at Ian, determined to thoroughly enjoy myself.
As we arrived, we saw swarms of people walking towards the fairgrounds from every direction. This should be great. The closest thing to this I’d ever been to was a church carnival when I was a
little kid. Uncle Frank didn’t like us going to country fairs. He said that it was a waste of money and that all the junk food would make us sick.
As we were walking, Ian started talking about what he wanted to do. “I haven’t eaten dinner so why don’t we first grab a bite to eat and then walk around and check things out. Let me know if there’s anything you want to do. I love the rides, but it’s best to get your food half way digested before you go on those. Greasy foods and crazy rides can result in disaster!” He grinned at me.
As we were walking around I noticed a couple of things about Ian. He seemed to know lots of people. I hadn’t really seen anyone that I knew yet, although I wouldn’t expect to. Occasionally, I would see a group of kids that looked familiar and I presumed that they went to Woodley High School. I also noticed that just about every girl we passed gave Ian the once over. Then, they would check me out with a mixture of envy/dislike in their eyes. I have to say that I was new to this experience.
I had to admit that Ian looked like a blue jean God, although that’s not what necessarily attracted me to him. In fact, I’ve always been mistrustful of very attractive guys. They’re usually too full of themselves to be good friend/boyfriend material. They get accustomed to being the object of crazy girl worship which tends to result in an insufferable ego. Nothing is more unattractive than a guy with a big ego. So far, Ian doesn’t seem to suffer from that affliction. He exhibits a strange combination of shyness and confidence. It’s very appealing. Maybe other girls see the same thing in him.
“We’re almost up to the counter. Do you know what you want to eat?” Ian asked.
“How about a hot dog with the works?” I answered. I loved hotdogs.
As we sat down to eat Ian suddenly laughed and asked, “Have you noticed something about the guys around here?”
“No, I don’t think so. What’re you talking about?” I inquired, puzzled.
“All the guys are checking you out and then they’re looking at me like I’m a lucky guy.” He responded, smiling at me.
“What?? You’re crazy. I haven’t noticed that at all.” I looked at him dubiously. Is he messing with me?
“I’m not kidding. You’re a knockout and you don’t even know it,” he said in more serious tone.
I shrugged and just looked at him. How do you respond to that? I think he’s trying to flatter me.
We headed to the band shell when I suddenly got that strange prickly sensation around my neck and back. I hate that feeling because I’ve had it before and it never leads to anything good. It’s almost like someone’s shooting tiny darts at me. I stopped and turned around. Wouldn’t you know, it was Tonya. She was with her gang, glaring at me with a look of pure hatred. What is it with her? Ian turned to see what I was looking at. The minute Tonya saw him looking in her direction she put on a big phony smile. Ian seemed uneasy.
Tonya strode over to us and put her arm through Ian’s. “Well, Ian. It’s so nice to see you.”
“Hi, Tonya,” Ian leaned in and gave Tonya a quick hug. Then, he disengaged himself and took a step back from her arm hold. “Have you ever met Tess?”
Tonya’s eyes quickly narrowed when she glanced over at me but she answered in a deliberately casual tone, “I’ve seen Tess around school.”
“Tess is new in town so I’m showing her some of our famous sights,” Ian said while smiling at me.
Tonya stepped toward Ian with part of her back to me. “Well, Ian, if you’d like to join us later you’re welcome to.”
Ian glanced between Tonya and I before he responded, “Thanks for the invite but we’ll be doing our own thing tonight.”
“I’ve missed you, Ian,” she said to him with a fake innocent look. “When will I get a chance to see you again?”
“Now’s not the time, Tonya. Besides, we’re a done deal. You know that. Nothing has changed,” Ian said in a low, firm voice.
Tonya’s sweet talk quickly transformed into anger, “I think I understand.” She made a point to stare at both of us, then she stalked off to her gang.
“Tonya seems a little perturbed,” I remarked while sweetly smiling. I couldn’t help myself.
Ian didn’t say anything at first. He finally answered in a flat tone, “She has a crazy streak. That’s why I stopped seeing her.”
“Did you go out with her for very long?” I asked innocently.
“We went out for a few months last year. After a while, this other side to her personality emerged. I didn’t like it and I broke it off. She tried to come on to me a few times since then, but I don’t think she was really interested in me. She just liked being the one in control and she didn’t like getting dumped.” Ian looked at me and shrugged.
He didn’t seem too comfortable talking about Tonya so I figured it was time to change the subject. I blurted out, “Hey, I think I can hear some music. Is that the band everyone’s talking about?”
Ian turned his head to listen. “Yep, that’s the ‘Two Timers’ all right.” He grabbed my hand and started pulling me in that direction. That was fine with me. When we got there, a slow sappy country song was playing so we got to dance real close. That felt like heaven. I fit into Ian’s arms perfectly. Ian was a good dancer in general which is fortunate considering that I was NOT.
When the music speeded up Ian showed me how to dance to the fast country songs. It took every ounce of my self-control to avoid looking like a total klutz on the dance floor. Ian didn’t break out in uncontrolled laughter so I figured I was passable. The entire time I was thinking that I better not see anyone with a camera or I’d have to break their arm.
I got to dance one more slow song with Ian. I was thoroughly enjoying myself when I made the mistake of opening my eyes and seeing Will dancing with Rainy. I couldn’t stop staring at them. They were both laughing, having a good old time. And what was THAT? Will’s dimples are showing again! I’m a big sucker for dimples. How come he never showed that dimply smile to me? Here I go again. I gotta snap out of this! I’m acting jealous and I’m dancing in Ian’s arms. I am such a jerk!
I made a point to avert my eyes from Will and Rainy and looked toward the band. What?? It’s HER again! Tonya and her group were right by the band, stirring it up. Everyone was looking over at them because their loud antics were impossible to ignore. Of course, that was their intent. Big shiny Tonya was smack in the middle, her bright red mouth opened in a cackle of laughter.
Out of the corner of her eye she looked my way and we locked eyes for a second. So that was her game. She planned to catch my attention; that’s why she parked her flashy loud self, right there. As she sneered at me she brought her blood red fingernails up to her mouth as if to hide her mocking smile. Her face reminded me of a shark after an attack with her cold fish eyes and blood red teeth. I put my head down on Ian’s shoulder and smiled back.
25. Mayhem
After we finished dancing, we decided to squeeze in a few rides before it got too late. The only ride without a long line was the Ferris wheel, a favorite of mine. We climbed on, buckled in and started going around. Something about going on rides makes me laugh really hard and if I’m not careful, I’ll laugh and snort at the same time. That’s not too attractive so I tried to control myself.
As we rotated around, nearing the apex of the wheel, the entire Ferris wheel apparatus abruptly jerked and stopped moving. By that time, we were at the worst possible place to stop, the pinnacle of the wheel. The seat we were in swung wildly back and forth. Ian grabbed and held my hand to be a nice guy. I have a bit of a problem with heights so I started feeling a little woozy. I didn’t tell Ian because I was afraid he would think I was a loser (especially after the incident under the tree). We were looking around wondering what was going on. A man on the ground with a speaker horn yelled to us that it was just mechanical difficulty and to be patient; things would be working shortly.
Ian turned to me and wise-cracked, “Hey, we’re alone up here and we’re stuck. This isn’t such a bad situation after all.” He
leaned over, lifted my chin up with his finger and placed his cool lips softly on mine. At first I was startled, but it was a nice sweet kiss, not a slimy barracuda kiss. I felt a little shiver go down my spine. Then he slid his soft lips across my cheek to my ear. I snuggled in closer to him and put my head on his shoulder. Momentarily, I felt unsteady so I grabbed his arm.
Something was starting to feel very unsettling. For a minute I wasn’t sure why, and then I realized what was happening. Even though the Ferris wheel was completely still, our seat was swinging higher. Why would our seat be swinging at all? It certainly wasn’t anything we were doing because we were trying to remain still. I noticed the seat in front of us was also swinging higher.
“Ian, what’s going on here?” I asked in a high voice while clutching his arm.
“I don’t know, Tess. This is really strange. You can hold onto me, but I also suggest that you hold onto the front rail here,” cautioned Ian. I could tell he was trying to keep his voice calm for my sake but it still sounded strained.
Our seat was at the point where it was going all the way to the horizontal position and back again, a 180 degree swing. If it didn’t stop it would soon flip over into a complete circle. That’s impossible, isn’t it? I could hear people screaming all around us. The seat in front of us was on the verge of flipping around, too. There was a little girl and her mother in that seat. I couldn’t even watch.
“Hang onto the bar with both of your arms, Tess, and don’t let go under any circumstances,” yelled Ian. Suddenly, our car flipped all the way around and WE WERE HANGING COMPLETELY OUT OF OUR SEAT!!! Both of us were hanging directly from the bar. The seat was still swinging but it stopped going around, probably due to our weight on the bar, so the seat was stuck upside down.
A Girl Beyond (War of the Witches Book 2) Page 12
